WIESBADEN, Germany – The gulf among Divisions I and III schools can seem massive at times, but not as much in others.

When the Spangdahlem basketball programs stepped onto the floor at Wiesbaden High School on Friday evening, they didn’t seem out of place.

In fact, they gave the Warriors all they could handle. The Sentinels split the evening’s games, with Wiesbaden winning the girls matchup 43-27 and Spangdahlem taking the boys contest 52-50.

“It’s big for a D-III team, especially coming into D-I’s house,” Sentinel boys coach Mark Jackson said. “[Not] many of us that get to play this level of a team for a D-III school.”

The Warriors expected the tight contests. The Spangdahlem boys team entered the team atop the Division III standings, while the girls sat just behind AFNORTH and Sigonella.

“They were doing things we haven’t seen all season from any of the D-I schools,” Wiesbaden coach Kristin Kachmar said of Spangdahlem. “It was a good game, a good learning experience.”

Boys

With the 20 seconds remaining in a tied ballgame, chaos ensued on the floor.

Bringing the ball into the half court, the Sentinels (7-0) lost control, and the Warriors (3-4) almost forced the turnover. Spangdahlem’s Cameron Lewis picked up the ball, though, and found teammate Robert Leggett cutting to the bucket on a backdoor cut.

The senior laid it in with 9 seconds remaining for the winning bucket.

“I knew I had to make the shot or we would have lost the game,” Leggett said. “All the pressure was in my hands, and I did what I had to do and executed.”

The basket capped off a signature performance from Leggett. He dropped a game-high 24 points, scoring consistently throughout the game, and he grabbed seven boards.

Leggett also attempted to slow down Wiesbaden’s main scorer, Jordan Thibodeaux, to mixed results. The junior Warrior scored just three points in the middle two quarters, but the guard also popped off in the fourth frame for nine of his team-high 20 points.

Leggett’s coach had seen that sort of performance before as a coach at AFNORTH. Jackson said he’s pleased to have Leggett on his side now.

“He drops buckets like crazy,” Jackson said. “To get a chance to coach him has been a great opportunity.

“I hope somebody looks at him. I feel he would have a chance at the next level.”

The Warriors opened the game on a 12-2 run, which proved to be the biggest lead of the game. Once the Sentinels tied the game at the 6-minute, 15-second mark in the second quarter on a Leggett steal and layup, neither team enjoyed more than a two-possession advantage.

In the fourth period, the two teams threw haymakers at each other, only for the other to respond.

Wiesbaden’s Colin Moore sent the crowd into a frenzy when the senior caught a pass from fellow senior Yadier Viera at the top of the key and let it fly, giving the Warriors a 50-47 lead with 47 seconds left.

That jubilation was short lived. On the next possession, Sentinel senior Makario Drummond connected from beyond the arc for his only points of the game.

That set up the final basket, which came after a Wiesbaden turnover.

“I kept telling them every timeout, this is what basketball is all about and it’s fun competing,” Warrior coach Dave Brown said. “We actually competed better than we did last weekend, so that’s one positive.”

Girls

Kachmar needed the winter break to get her Warriors (3-4) on the same page, especially after a rough start to the season.

That work showed in the return against Vilseck last weekend, but the weather could have thrown a wrench into carrying that form to Friday.

It did not, though. Six Warriors got onto the scoresheet against the Sentinels (5-2) on Friday evening, as they led from start to finish at home. Junior Natalia Bergdorf paced Wiesbaden with 11 points and 18 rebounds, while junior Katie Shea chipped in with 10 points.

Spreading out the scoring is exactly what Kachmar wants from her team.

“Let everybody have the chance, the opportunity to touch the basketball,” she said. “We preach that in practice. It’s just a testament to what I’m trying to instill in them and them listening to what I’m saying.

“We are a team where we need everybody on the floor to be successful.”

Still, the lack of practice showed in the third quarter, as Spangdahlem climbed back into the game.

Leading by 16 points at the 5:51 mark in the second period, the Warriors found themselves with just a five-point advantage just 10:30 later when Spangdahlem’s Gabrielle Schmidt went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line to make it 28-23.

Wiesbaden scored the next nine points, though, to push out the lead again before cruising the rest of the way.

“We just had two snow days, so I feel like we were all a little bit tired,” Bergdorf said. “Coming into the fourth quarter, we got the intensity back up from being on the bench and coach yelling at us.”

Sentinel coach Chris Howard pointed out the slow start as a bit of nerves while also crediting his players for bouncing back, especially for much of the third quarter. He also said Spangdahlem ran out of steam in the fourth quarter, as the away side committed 10 turnovers.

Freshman Jayda Lewis totaled 13 points for the Sentinels.

“To start off, our hair was on fire,” Howard said. “We weren’t under control. … When we came out in the second half, we were under control. We played better on defense, put our hands where they need to be. They had numerous turnovers, so that put us in a better position.”

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